San Jose Marijuana Grow Operation Found During Firefight

SAN JOSE (CBS SF) — San Jose police were investigating a marijuana grow operation inside a suburban home in South San Jose that firefighters discovered while battling a fire Friday morning, a police spokeswoman said.

About 70 to 75 small-sized marijuana plants were found by San Jose firefighters in the unoccupied home in the first block of Wigwam Court near Chynoweth Avenue, police Sgt. Heather Randol said.

No one was inside the home when firefighters arrived and no one was injured in the small fire, which started in a small garbage can inside the corner of a room, Randol said.

“It was a very small fire,” she said.

Firefighters were called to the home about the fire about at 5:23 a.m., San Jose Fire Capt. Mike Van Elgort said.

Fire crews saw light smoke coming from the attic of the house and bars on the windows and doors of the home delayed firefighters from reaching the blaze, Van Elgort said.

The fire was knocked down at 5:54 a.m. and fully extinguished at 6:24 a.m., according to fire officials.

The fire damaged the contents of the home, but the structure itself did not sustain significant damage, Van Elgort said.

Police are investigating the owner of home and who may have occupied it, Randol said.

The cause of the fire remains under investigation by police and fire officials.

(Copyright 2013 by CBS San Francisco and Bay City News Service. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)